A virus most people probably have never heard of, but that the majority of us carry, is the No. 1 infectious cause of congenital birth defects in the U.S. today. Because of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during in utero development, 1 in 750 children are born with or develop permanent disabilities such as hearing loss or brain damage.
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Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) affects more than 90 percent of the population worldwide and was the first human virus found to be associated with cancer. Now, researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have broadened the understanding of this widespread infection with their discovery of a second B-cell attachment receptor for EBV.
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Say "I love you" with flowers, chocolates or a greeting card, but be careful when you kiss this Valentine's Day.
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A new study could provide the link that scientists have been looking for to confirm that reactivation of a latent herpes virus is a cause of some heart problems.
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Enlarged lymph nodes are a marker for both occult cancer and a long-term risk for malignancy, confirms research published in the British Journal of Haematology.
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For the first time, researchers have landed on a potential diagnostic method to identify at least a subset of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), a complex disorder with no known definitive cause or cure.
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Roche announced today the commercial availability of a new test to assess a patient's viral load of cytomegalovirus (CMV). Physicians use information from the test to help them manage patients who have been diagnosed with CMV disease, specifically patients with an immune system that has been suppressed for solid organ transplantation.
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ViroPharma Incorporated today announced the initiation of a Phase 2 program to evaluate maribavir for the treatment of cytomegalovirus infections in transplant recipients.
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New evidence published in Cell by Vivian Budnik, PhD, Melissa J. Moore, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, reveals a novel budding mechanism, similar to the process used by some viruses, capable of exporting large ribonucleoprotein particles from the nucleus to the cytoplasm.
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More than 90 percent of humans have antibodies to the Epstein Barr virus. Best known for causing mononucleosis, or "the kissing disease," the virus has also been implicated in more serious conditions, including Hodgkin's, non-Hodgkin's and Burkitt's lymphomas. Yet little is known about exactly how EBV triggers these diseases.
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Today, heterosexuals in Europe are at particular risk of carrying HIV for so long that they remain undiagnosed until their immune system starts to fail and they become ill. An international study under the leadership of the HIV in Europe initiative has now revealed that a number of diseases, including herpes zoster and certain forms of cancer, should be on the list of indicators for having HIV - and thus serve to prompt health care professionals to suggest an HIV-test to their patients.
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Say "I love you" with flowers, chocolates or a greeting card, but be careful when you kiss this Valentine's Day. "Mid-February is usually the peak season for infectious diseases, such as the seasonal and H1N1 flu, mononucleosis, colds and coughs," says Jorge Parada, MD, medical director, infectious disease at Loyola University Health System. "And don't rely on obvious signs of illness - such as sneezing or fever as a tip off. People with infectious diseases start shedding the virus before they experience the full effect of the illness."
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A new clinical Standard Reference Material (SRM) from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will help health care professionals more accurately diagnose and treat cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common pathogen that is particularly dangerous for infants and persons with weakened immune systems.
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The first study to investigate risk factors for the vascular condition called CCSVI (chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency) in volunteers without neurological disease has identified what the researchers call a remarkable similarity between this condition and possible or confirmed risk factors for multiple sclerosis.
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A new study reveals that young adults who take oral antibiotics for acne may be more likely to get sore throats. The reason behind this is unclear say researchers. However they add that long-term use of antibiotics might change the balance of bacteria in the throat. In principle, that could allow infection-causing strains to multiply.
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In a new article from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and Harold Varmus, M.D., director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), join Gary Nabel, M.D., Ph.D., director of NIAID's Vaccine Research Center, and Jeffrey Cohen, M.D., chief of NIAID's Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, in summarizing a recent meeting of experts who gathered to map directions toward an EBV vaccine.
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Infection with Epstein Barr means that the B cells, which are the primary memory cells of the immune system, are hi-jacked. When the virus has penetrated, researchers observe an excess of a special bio-antenna, a receptor known as EB12, suddenly sprouting from the surface of the B cells. But why they do so remains a mystery.
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DNA vaccine development company Coridon Pty Ltd. today announced that it has entered into a research collaboration agreement with The Ohio State University to progress its Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) project.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Nulojix to prevent acute rejection in adult patients who have had a kidney transplant. The drug is approved for use with other immunosuppressants -- specifically basiliximab, mycophenolate mofetil, and corticosteroids.
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New research suggests that people who are exposed to low levels of sunlight coupled with a history of having a common virus known as mononucleosis may be at greater odds of developing multiple sclerosis than those without the virus.
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